The Nightmare Begins
Plot Summary ]] The Irkens are a race that desire universal domination. Their leaders, Almighty Tallest Red and Purple, have just begun assigning the Invaders their missions for Operation Impending Doom II in the Convention Hall planet, Conventia (The Great Assigning). However, the most dreaded and infamous Irken ever to live, Zim, arrives in hopes of getting an assignment of his own. Zim was banished from the Irken Empire and sent to work on Foodcourtia when he blew up the other Invaders during Operation Impending Doom I. "Quitting" his banishment once he hears about the new Operation, Zim begs for an assignment and the Tallest reluctantly send him to a planet outside the reaches of the Empire of no real interest to the Irkens, which turns out to be Earth. After receiving a poorly-constructed SIR Unit made out of garbage named GIR, Zim begins his long journey to his "mission". Little does he know, however, that an Earth child has tuned into the meeting on Conventia, and is now alert for an alien invasion. Six months later, Zim finally arrives on a planet called Earth. He lands and creates a human disguise for himself, and a dog costume for GIR. Zim then sketches a picture of a "normal" human house into a capsule with a drill, which bores into the Earth and creates a huge underground base, waking up the entire neighbourhood in the process. Zim then enters his new base and searches for a place to learn about the weaknesses of the planet. Ultimately, he decides to join the local Skool. His disguise fools all of the students, except Dib, who tries to prove to his classmates that Zim is an alien. However, they don't believe him, so Dib attempts to capture Zim with Alien Sleep Cuffs. After a lengthy chase, Zim calls GIR and has him take him back to the base. However, GIR leaves a trail of smoke behind that Dib follows. Zim hides inside his base, and the gnomes in his front yard destroy Dib's Alien Sleep Cuffs. However, Dib promises to keep on hunting him down during a long speech, after which he is driven away. Zim, dusting himself off and unconcerned about the human, contacts the Almighty Tallest (who are shocked that he is still alive) and informs them that he is working hard on his mission. Facts of Doom Trivia of Doom *This episode is longer than any other episode due to the longer opening credits. *When Ms. Bitters says "Go home now" you can see a stick figure drawn in the corner of the board. *It is mentioned in The Frycook What Came from All that Space that Zim blew up every other Invader during his rampage on Irk, which is shown in the beginning. *Almighty Tallest Red has light pink eyes in this episode. Both of the Tallest were redesigned during the first season, and they appear as they do throughout the rest of the series in Germs. **This episode marks the only time they appeared with their original designs. *Even though Zim drew the house with his left hand, Jhonen states that he is not left-handed, but that he's advanced and therefore ambidextrous. *It is revealed in this episode that Invaders have self destruct options on their gloves, seemingly in case their cover is under threat. The option is only seen in this episode, as Zim never considers self-destruction again. *In the scene where Zim is flying around town in his Voot Cruiser, the radio station he passes is WTFU, which means Wake the **** Up. The station never appears again. However, WHUH appears in Hamstergeddon. Things You Might Have Missed *Keef appears in this episode, albeit as a background character. The back of his head can be seen as Ms Bitters is introducing Zim, as well as when Zim is making his introduction speech, and the camera pans to Dib, although he is drawn slightly differently. He is seen again when one of the Skoolchildren talks about Dib being insensitive, and once again, one of the first children running out of the building as the bell rings. He appears a total of four times. *The dark blue planet in which all the arrows point out from on the screen behind the Tallest has been confirmed as Irk, the Irken home planet. The arrows symbolize the planets marked for "Galactic Conquest". *The disguise that Zim deems as being "too ugly" is series creator Jhonen Vasquez, and the disguise Zim deems as being "too stinky" is series director Steve Ressel. *After Zim puts on his disguise, GIR's eyes flash for a few milliseconds. *This marks the first time in the series in which someone broke the fourth wall. In this case, when Dib pointed out to Zim, the camera moves over to Zim then back to Dib. When he says "Right there!" more clearly, the camera then moves back to Zim and freezes there. *The second time the fourth wall is broken is when the words Weird and Sitting fly in front of Zim's face, and his eyes follow the words. *During this episode, Invader Skoodge has various scenes with and without his PAK. *When the announcer in the beginning is mentioning the gift shop, a billboard can be seen flying by with the picture of the green monkey that is in Zim's house, suggesting he went to the gift shop and got it there. *This episode Ranked #36 on '100 Greatest Nicktoon Episodes'. The Doom Song Ranked #26. *When the first SIR Unit is given out, a person with a similar sounding voice to Zim wants and gets it. Changes and Cuts * The line "radioactive rubber pants" was originally "radioactive rubber ants", but the line was changed to make it more funny and original. * Originally, Zim had to fight a monster called the Digestor as a test of his worthiness. He ended up defeating it by giving it the sandwich Tallest Red gave to him. *The ending where Zim is reporting in to the Tallest was originally to be repeated at the end of every episode. *In the scene where Zim is destroying Irk in the giant robot, the scene was originally going to be much longer with the robot break dancing while shooting lasers and destroying more of the city, but it was too long, and therefore shortened. *When Zim first arrives at Earth, the caption reads "Six months later". However, it never takes six months to arrive at Earth at any other point in the series, so the time card could just be for the amusement of the viewers, as not everything in a cartoon has to be realistic. If this is the case, another example would be in Invasion of the Idiot Dog Brain, when a title card says that Zim has been waiting for GIR to exhaust himself for a whole year. Inconsistencies and Animation Errors *The milk carton in the refrigerator says "Rob Hummel is Meat", but after Dib falls into the sink, it has a picture of a kid with “Find Me!” written below the picture. *Right after Zim says "Step one went smoothly" after entering his base for the first time, his eye colours are inverted. * When Zim gets his disguise, the legs of his pants are pink, and they keep changing colour throughout a majority of this episode, though more frequently in the second half of the episode. * When Zim runs to hide while his base is being constructed, he appears to be wearing pink underwear. *In one scene Almighty Tallest Red has one ring around his waist, but his waist has three in every other scene. *When Dib approaches Zim after Skool and comments on his poor disguise, his legs are missing again. *When Zim makes a comment on GIR’s intelligence, his legs vanish temporarily. *When Zim is asking Ms Bitters about Earth's defences, Zita can be seen in the background, even though she sits behind Zim, and the given angle wouldn't allow her to be seen. *When Zim contacts the Tallest to report on his progress, there is a scene that is showing The Massive, the Irken Imperial Flagship, but none of the smaller ships are around it, despite the fact that The Massive is always escorted by many other smaller ships. *Once the Great Assigning ends, when Almighty Tallest Red says lasers his teeth are the same colour as his skin. *When Zim lands, the symbol on his Voot Cruiser keeps changing from the one-eyed symbol to the two-eyed symbol and then back again. *When Dib is going up to the board to compare and contrast humans from Zim, his glasses temporarily disappear. *When Zim arrives at Skool, Ms. Bitters' dress changes from purple to black several times. *When GIR starts singing the doom song, his eyes glow electric blue for a few seconds, it flashes the same way when he exclaims: "Ooh! whassat!?" whilst pointing at Earth. *When GIR was first made, Tallest Purple made a whistling sound to simulate falling. When GIR actually hit the ground, the crashing sound came a few milliseconds late. *GIR's antenna is almost colourless when he is first presented to Zim. *When GIR says "I saw a squirrel" and Zim looks at him with confusion, he stares at him before he even says "squirrel" *When GIR first puts on the his dog costume he has a collar on him, but when the camera angle changes to his back he doesn't have it on. *When Zim enters his base for the first time, a SIR unit can be seen on the Men's bathroom sign, but later in the episode it's normal again. *When Dib is saying how all the things he's been talking about were "actually right", Ms. Bitters wasn't behind her desk. *While Dib is saying things that proves Zim is an alien, Zim's PAK disappears many times. *Tak's ship appears in the beginning of the episode. Music Main Article: The Kevin Manthei Invader Zim-phony Special * In the Beginning From the beginning of the episode until right before the Tallest appear. * Smackdown Source During the Tallests' introduction. * Zim Is Late As Zim is flying toward Conventia. * Zim Enters Conventia As Zim pushes his way through the audience to get to the Almighty Tallest. * To Earth As Zim is flying to Earth in his Voot Cruiser, before GIR sings the Doom Song. * Entering Earth's Atmosphere As GIR observes what the "earthenoids" consider to be normal. * Zim's House When Zim first enters his house. *Our First Chase As Dib chases Zim through the city * Dib Doesn't Quit * Leader Report As Zim reports to the Tallest at the end. Quotes Almighty Tallest Red: See, told you they'd love the lasers. Almighty Tallest Purple: Everything is lasers with you! I'm telling you, smoke machines are what the people really- A laser beam hits Almighty Tallest Purple in the eye and he falls over, screaming in pain. The audience cheers. Almighty Tallest Red (smugly): See? Dib: They're coming! Zim: Concentrate, GIR! It is time for disguises! GIR: I wanna be a mongoose. Dib: Okay, am I the only one here who sees the alien sitting in class? The students look around for an alien. Dib: There! Dib points at Zim. The camera pans towards Zim but returns to Dib. Dib: Right there! The camera pans towards Zim again but this time stays on him. Zim sweats. Dib: That is no kid! He's an alien! An alien! One of the monsters I've been talking about! He's here to conquer Earth! Zim: I put the fires out. Almighty Tallest Red: You made them worse! Zim: Worse... or better? Dib: Zim. Maybe your cruddy little disguise worked on everyone else, but I'll get them to see the truth. Zim: No one will believe you. Dib: They'll believe if I bring you to them without your disguise! Dib slides down the side railings of the steps and lands in front of Zim. He pulls out a pair of advanced handcuffs. Dib: I ordered this from one of my U.F.O- zines. Dib opens the handcuffs. Zim: Oh, its pretty. What is it? Dib: Alien sleep cuffs, guaranteed to render all alien life forms unconscious. Zim: How do you know it works if you never found an alien before? Dib: I'm gonna find out right now! Almighty Tallest Purple: Uuh... Besides, no invader has ever been so... very small. You're very small, Zim. You're a tiny thing. Zim: But, Invader's blood marches through my veins like giant radioactive rubber pants! The pants command me... DO NOT IGNORE MY VEINS! Dib: They might even name your autopsy video after me! GIR: Master? Where did you go? Where are you? Zim: I'm right here, GIR! It's me! And keep it down, do you wanna wake up the whole planet? GIR: I dooo. Ms. Bitters: Doom, doom, doom. Go home now! Dib: See the difference? Anyone? Anyone? Questions? The Letter "M": Yeah, what's wrong with you? All you talk about is aliens and ghosts and seeing Bigfoot in your garage! Dib: He was using the belt sander... Gaz: Dib drank the last soda. He will pay! Dib: Your little tricks won't fool me, Zim! I know where you live now! Dib sticks his head up against the window. GIR: Oh, your friend's at the window! Dib: You can't hide forever! And if you can, then I'll wait forever! Lasers pop out of the pupils of one of the lawn gnomes. The aiming system zooms in on Dib's sleep cuffs. Dib: I've been preparing for this all my life! A laser bolt from the lawn gnome destroys the cuffs. Dib: Okay... I'm going to go home now and prepare some more! But I'll be back, and from here to the ends of the Earth, Zim- Zim: I feel good about how today went. Dib: From here to the depths of the oceans!,I..... GIR: GIR, reporting for duty! Zim: GIR? What does the 'g' stand for? GIR's eyes turn blue. GIR: I don't know! GIR stands there stupidly. He then hits himself in the head repeatedly. GIR: Wheeeeee hoo hoo hoo! Wheeeeeeee hoo hoo hoo! Zim: Um, is it supposed to be stupid? Almighty Tallest Purple: It's not stupid. It's advanced! GIR hops on his head repeatedly. Almighty Tallest Red: You will be sent to a planet so mysterious, no one has even heard of it! Almighty Tallest Purple: Right! And those who have heard of it dare not speak its name! Zim: What's its name? Almighty Tallest Purple: Oh, I dare not speak it! Zim: Okay, for you, I'm thinking maybe a dog. GIR: Can I be a mongoose dog? Ms. Bitters: Class, I would like to introduce the newest, hopeless appendage to the student body. His name is... Zim. Zim, if you have something to say, say it now, because after this moment, I don't wanna hear another sound from you! Zim: Move it, move it! Invader coming! Move it! Arg, move it! Get out of the way! Dib: What about his horrible green head!?! Zim: Insolent fool boy! It's a skin condition. Dib: And he's got no ears! Is that part of your skin condition, Zim? No ears? Zim: Yes. The students look irritably at Dib. Zim: Sorry I'm late, my Tallest. I couldn't find my invitation. You're lucky I made it at all. Almighty Tallest Red: You weren't invited at all. Almighty Tallest Purple: Weren't you banished to Foodcourtia? Shouldn't you be... frying something? Zim: Oh, I quit when I found out about this. Almighty Tallest Purple: You quit being banished? Tae: Man, Dib. You think that just 'cause someone looks different, you can call them an alien? Brian: I guess Old Kid's an alien too, huh? Old Kid: How's it goin'? Dib: Dad! They're coming! I heard them! I actually heard them! I was up on the roof, and I heard this transmission that was coming through! Professor Membrane: Shtshtshtsht! Not now son! I'm making (sparks of electricity fly everywhere) TOAST! Ms. Bitters: Today's lecture is about outer space... and how it will eventually implode in on itself! Zim stands on his desk with both arms up. Ms. Bitters: Yes, Zim? Zim: In the event of, say, a full-scale alien invasion, how prepared do you think this planet's defenses would be? Tell me! Ms. Bitters: As I was saying, the universe is just doomed. Doomed, doomed, doooooooooooooomed! Dib: Don't let him trick you! I know what I'm talking about, and there it is... sitting.. right.. there! Student Voice: Well, he does look... pretty weird. (The word "weird" floats across the screen) Another student voice: Yeah! And he is sitting! (The word "sitting" floats across the screen) Almighty Tallest Purple: This is your standard issue information retrieval unit, also known as a SIR. It will assist you in gathering valuable knowledge during your mission. Almighty Tallest Red: It's also a thermos! Ice Cream Truck: You like ice cream. You like ice cream. You love it. You cannot resist ice cream. To resist is hopeless. Your existence is meaningless without ice cream. Zim: Invader Zim reporting, sirs. The mission goes well. Almighty Tallest Red drops his soda and Almighty Tallest Purple stares with his mouth agape. Zim: But surely you expected that from me. Almighty Tallest Red spits. Almighty Tallest Red: Zim... You're alive!? Zim: Yes. So very alive. GIR: Hello! Zim: And full of goo. Mission goo! Don't be surprised if I take care of the humans before the armada even gets here. Well, I've much work to do, so: Invader Zim, signing off! GIR falls from the top and hits Zim. Zim: Ow! My spine! Dib: Gaz! They're coming! They really are! Gaz: Who's coming, Dib? Dib: I don't know... Almighty Tallest Red: Invaders! Report to the equipment hall! Oh, and remember! Lasers. A laser hits Almighty Tallest Purple in the eye. Almighty Tallest Purple: Ahhhhhggggggghhhhhhhh! See also * The Nightmare Begins (Transcript) * Episode 01 Credits * The Nightmare Begins Screenshots Category:Season 1 Category:GIR Filmography Category:Gaz Filmography Category:Dib Filmography Category:Altered Episodes Category:Zim Filmography